A brief history of Palermo Football Club
Football in Palermo dates back to 1897 when Englishman Joseph Isaac Spadafora Whitaker and other compatriots founded the Sport Club. In 1900 the Anglo-Palermitan Athletic and Foot-Ball Club was founded. The colours were British red and blue. The first president was the English vice-consul Edward De Garston and the first player-manager was George Edward Samuel Blake who also worked at the consulate. In 1907 the name was changed to Palermo Foot-Ball Club. The colours were changed to pink and black.
In the early years they played in Southern Italian tournaments. After the First World War, in 1920 they returned as Unione Sportiva Palermo (merging with another local club Racing FBC). In 1923 they merged with Unione Sportiva Leoni and in 1924 with Sport Club Libertas Palermo and became Palermo Football Club. At this point they were still playing at Sicilian regional level.
In 1929 with the unification of the Italian football leagues Palermo started from the 3rd tier (Prima Divisione) but in three seasons reached the top flight and stayed three seasons (13th, 12th, 7th and 15th). Up to the war they were in Serie B (7th three times and 14th).
In 1935 the fascist regime imposed the Italian name Associazione Calcio Palermo and from 1936 prohibited the pink shirts and Palermo had to use the Sicilian flag's red and yellow.
In 1940 due to financial problems the club went bust. In 1941, they merged with Juventina Palermo and refounded as Unione Sportiva Palermo-Juventina and played in blue and white. In the same year they were promoted to Serie B.
In 1942 they went back to pink and black.
In 1944-45 they won the Sicilian War Championship.
After World War II they restarted in the mixed A-B Centro-Sud league and finished 8th. After two years in Serie B they were promoted to Serie A in 1947-48 and stayed for six years (11th, 13th, 10th, 11th, 16th and 17th).
The mid 1950s to early 1970s saw them yo-yo between B and A. They were in A on and off for seven seasons (best positions 8th in 1962 and 11th in 1969). One of the managers in this period was Čestmír Vycpálek (Zdeněk Zeman's uncle). In 1968 they changed name to Società Sportiva Calcio Palermo.
In 1972-73 Palermo were relegated from A and did not return until 2004-05. They also spent some years in Serie C (1984-85, 1988-89, 1992-93, 1997-2001) and even one in C2 (1987-88). In 1992-93 they won the Serie C Coppa Italia. They changed their name twice more; in 1986 to Unione Sportiva Palermo (following bankruptcy) and in 1994 to Unione Sportiva Città di Palermo.
In Serie A permanently from 2004 to 2013 they had some good years under volcanic president Maurizio Zamparini and managers such as Francesco Guidolin, Luigi Del Neri, Delio Rossi and Gian Piero Gasperini. Their highest finishes were 5th (three times) and 6th with UEFA qualifications. In 2011 they reached the Coppa Italia final but lost 1-3 to Inter. They had top quality players such as Fabio Grosso, Andrea Barzagli, Josip Iličic, Franco Vazquez, Luca Toni, Edinson Cavani, Amauri, David Di Michele, Fabrizio Miccoli, Abel Hernández, Javier Pastore and Paulo Dybala.
They came straight back up to A in 2014 for three more years but struggled (11th, 16th and 19th) and in 2019 went bust again.
They refounded as Palermo Società Sportiva Dilettantistica and restarted from Serie D. In 2020 they took back the name Palermo Football Club and by 2022 were back in Serie B.
They are currently in Serie B but have an ambitious owner Dario Mirri and Filippo Inzaghi as manager. The Rosanero are one of the favourites for promotion.
A turbulent history but possibly a brighter future.
The club colours as mentioned are pink and black. A unique combination chosen apparently as a metaphor of bitter and sweet (defeats and victories). Another version is that the colours represented the rose liqueur (cordial) and amaro drinks the Whittaker family produced. Whatever the origin they certainly stand out.
The club symbol is the Eagle which is also that of the town of Palermo itself.
Palermo have played in various grounds. They started on fields called Varvaro and nicknamed 'u pantanu' (quagmire). From 1914 to 1932 they played at the Stadio Ranchibile. In 1932 a new stadium was built and was called Stadio del Littorio which in 1937 became "Stadio Michele Marrone" (local former player and war hero) and after WW2 "La Favorita" (the lands of Ferdinand I of the Kingdom of Two Sicily's, where it was located)
The stadium is in a lovely position at the foot of Monte Pellegrino. It has been through various modernisations, the most recent for the Italia 1990 World Cup, in 2005-06 and 2022 (for Italy World Cup playoff). In 2002 it was renamed "Stadio Renzo Barbera" (Palermo owner from 1970 to 1980). It now has a capacity of 36,000.
Palermo' fans come mainly from the Palermo area but they have a good following also in the USA and Germany (which have large Sicilian communities). The organised fan groups have friendships with those of Padova and Lecce while their biggest rivals are Catania but Messina, Frosinone and Napoli are also considered enemies.
Palermo's top 10 players for appearances are: Roberto Biffi 337 (1988-99), Enzo Benedetti 286 (1955-1965), Antonio De Bellis 280 (1957-61, 1964-71), Mauro Di Cicco 269 (1976-1984), Alberto Malavasi 268 (1957-1965), Gennaro Santillo 243 (1932-1940), Valerio Majo 241 (1974-78, 1983-86), Pietro De Sensi 237 (1987-94), Franco Landri 234 (1966-73) and Erminio Favalli 228 (1971-78).
The top 10 goalscorers are: Fabrizio Miccoli 81, Matteo Brunori 76, Ghito 53, Luca Toni 51, Gaetano Troja 48, Dante Di Maso 43, Silvino Bercellino 42, Ilija Nestorovski 39, Edinson Cavani and Massimo De Stefanis 37
In 2020 the fans were asked to choose their top XI in history and the votes were for: Stefano Sorrentino, Federico Balzaretti, Andrea Barzagli, Fabio Grosso, Eugenio Corino, Josip Iličic, Javier Pastore, Lamberto Zauli, Paulo Dybala, Fabrizio Miccoli, Luca Toni. The manager: Francesco Guidolin.
Palermo are currently ranked 17th in overall Serie A history. They have taken part in UEFA club competitions five times and their best result was the last 16 in the 2005-06 UEFA Cup.
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